Top construction



Aug. 29, 1939. J. w. PARK TOP CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 17, 1938 Patented Aug. 29, 1939 2 171 045.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TOP CONSTRUCTION Jesse W. Park, Los Angeles, Calif. Application January 1'5, 1938, Serial No. 185,375

3 Claims. (CZ. 296--104) My invention relates to a top or cover conslats rest on the arched portion of the bows. struction for use with freight trucks and similar A canvas or tarpaulin may then be readily vehicles. My top construction is of a type instretched over the top and secured in any of the tended to be used with a removable covering such present and usual manners. My construction 5' as a canvas or tarpaulin which is drawn and therefore provides a light yet strong construc- 5 stretched over a frame and then secured in any tion for retaining the cover in the desired posiusual manner. In the usual constructions it is tion and on account of the lightness and simnecessary to have quite an elaborate and rigid plicity after removal of the convas, the top conframe on the sides and over the top of the truck struction may readily be disconnected from the trailer or similar vehicle, this being sufficiently bows and made into a roll.

rigid and having either a suilieient number of My invention is illustrated in connection with cross and longitudinal supports to hold the canthe accompanying drawing, in which: vas or tarpaulin in shape and over which it Fig. 1 may be considered an end elevation may be stretched. In many of these constructaken in the direction of the arrow l of Fig. 2.

tions a framing is used having bows, such bows 2 is a p taken in the CiiIeCtiOII 0f the 15 having side members attached sometimes removarrow 2 of Fig. 1.

ably to the sides of the vehicle body and with Fig. 3 is a detail vertical section at any of the an arch over the top together with longitudinal bows taken for instance on the line 33 of I framing members connecting the bows. 2 in the direction of the arrows.

An object and feature of my invention is to y invention of the removable p s lleuse a more or less standard bow construction as tion is ed for use W standard yp o may now be used on vehicles and these may be b designated generally by the numeral ll. readily removed to provide the vehicle with an These e p se a p sec on and an arched open top where a large load is being carried or top I3. The sp 0f the ch y be 0011- they may be removed for loading and unloading sidefed as d ng from the upp part of the 25 heavy articles. However in my construction an Vertical section o the p sts and the crown l5 im rovement i i securing on th t ide f th of the arch is in the mid-section. These bows vertical or upright part of the bows a channel maybe Inside Of d either a single piece be t type of holder or retaining element or device. to hap r w or m pi c connected y These open outwardly and provide a means for splicing p p y hent- In y cases owever retaining the top construction in place. the bows are made of metal. My invention in- Such top construction includes a pair of subeludes as one Of its main features the brackets stantial and strong longitudinal bars and a designated y e s y e a 0, each series of longitudinal straps, the bars and the. of Which has a vertical web 2|, a horizontal lower straps preferably being made of wood and these flange a Vertical Tim 23 extending p y 35 are connected by fabric webbing, hence the rerom the owe flange a p e to the Web. movable top construction may be readily made This is p eferably p ed W & bev e into a roll for storage on the vehicle or other A short ppe fla e 25 is o e integral W th place and may likewise be readily unrolled and he web nd he r st f he h l r nd m y b fitted to the bows by one person. The com considered as forming a shoulder abutment. 40-

struction may be made sufficiently light even for This upper flange is at right angles. to the web a large vehicle to be readily handled by the and thus parallel to the lower flange 22. It driver of the vehicle. preferably terminates in a plane vertical edge 26. Another detail feature of my invention relates The channel holders may be secured to the to the interlocking construction of the channel posts of the bows in any suitable manner, how- 45 type of holder secured to each bow and the two ever, I have indicated a clamp 21 made in the lower longitudinal bars, these being substanform of a sleeve integral Wit th e portion tially rectangular except for having a cut-out Z s s s pp d over a cyli dr metal p notch on the lower face permitting the bars to and clamped in the desired position by a set be readily inserted and fitted in the channel screw 28. n0 brackets, thus when both of these bars, one on The removable cover construction 30 employs each side of the vehicle, is secured in the row two lower bars 3!, each having the same charof holders on the bows, the tension of the webacteristic and being made of wood. They are bing retains the top construction in place on substantially rectangular, thus having a vertical the bows and in such construction the straps or inner face 32, a similar parallel outer face 33, 55

an upper edge 3 and a lower edge 35. In the wood bars there is cut a longitudinal rabbet or notch 36. This has a vertical face 31 and a bevel 38 extending outwardly to the outer face 33. The upper inside corner 39 is preferably slightly rounded.

The channel holders are attached to all of the bows on each side of the vehicle and must be in horizontal alignment on each side so that the lower longitudinal bars may be fitted in the channel holders. It will be noted that on account of having the rabbet or notch 36 cut in the lower portion of each of the bars that this portion may be inserted in the lower part of the channel holder between the web 2|, the lower flange 22 and the vertical rim 23. The upper portion may then be fitted and pressed inwardly below the short upper flange 25, the bar then fitting as shown in Fig. 3.

A series of slats 55 rectangular in cross section and much longer in width indicated by the measurement 66 than by their heighth indicated by their measurement line 41, are of the same length as the bars 3!. The slats and the bars are connected by strips of webbing 5B. These may be formed of fabric or other suitable material. Crossing the slats on their top surface at right angles, the webbing is secured to each slat for screws, nails or other fasteners, indi cated at 5!. The outer and lower ends of the webbing indicated at 52, extend downwardly over the outside face 33 of the bars, follow the bevel 3B and fit snugly against the face 31, thence the webbing is wrapped around the lower edge 35 upwardly on the inside face 32 and extends partly across the upper edge 34. the main wrapping portions 53, 54, 55 and 56, terminating at 51. This wrapped portion of the webbing is securely attached by tacks, screws or the like to each of the bars.

The bars and the slats are preferably cut square at their ends and the end webbing has its outer edge 58 aligned with the ends of the slats and the bars. It will be noted that the ends of the webbing are wrapped around and secured to the bars at positions to be spaced between the bows and hence the webbing does not come in contact with the channel holders 20. The number of webs to be used of course depends on the distance apart of the bows on the vehicle and the slats and bars preferably project some little distance forward of the front bow and rearwardly of the rear bow. It will be noted that a comparatively few number of slats are necessary, however it is preferable to have a center slat 60 of the assembly directly over the crown l5 of the bow, to have the slats 6| nearest the bars 3| engage on the outside of the spring of the arch I4 and there may be one or more slats 62 resting on the bows between those over the spring of the arch and the crown of the arch. The webbing when the bars are properly fitted in their holders and the slats rest snugly on the bows forms a straight line between the bars 3| and the first, pair of slats 6i and also straight lines between any two contiguous slats, therefore the webbing does not quite conform to the arched shape or curve of the bows. A purpose of having the rabbet or notch 36 in the lower parts of the bars 31 is so that the outer face 33 practically aligns with the outer face of the vertical rim 23, hence when a canvas or tarpaulin is fitted over the top construction and drawn tight by ropes or other fasteners in the ordinary manner, there is a smooth fit over the outside face 33 of the bars and the vertical rim 23 This thus presents of the channel holders 20. In the illustrations the web is shown exaggerated as to thickness but on account of these webs being positioned intermediate the bows, the canvas or tarpaulin fits snugly over these. Also on account of the web edge 58 being in alignment with the ends of the slats and the bars, the canvas or tarpaulin cover is protected from contacting directly against the sharp edge of the bars and slats.

The manner of fitting the removable cover is as follows: This cover may be .made into a roll by winding the webbing around one of the bars, then as the winding continues the slats are Wound into a bundle and retained by the webbing until all the slats with the webbing are made into a roll, the winding terminating at the second bar. Therefore in fitting the removable cover to the bows the operator, usually the driver of the truck, can readily lift the roll to rest on the top of the arch. He can then unroll this until he has one of the bars aligned with a series of holder channels 20, one of which is secured preferably to the outside of each bow by suitable fasteners, the holders thus being in longitudinal alignment on each side of the vehicle. The lower end 35 is fitted in the bottom of a channel, that is, between the web 2|, the bottom flange 22 and the rim 23. The rabbet 36 allows this as there is a slight loose fit. The slight rounded corner 39 permits the bar to be thrust downwardly and to fit snugly under the upper flange 25. This procedure thus securely attaches one of the longitudinal bars to the series of holders. The cover is then completely unrolled so that the other bar aligns with the row of holders on the opposite posts. It will be noted that the open side of each channel faces outwardly. The webbing is then stretched to fit this second bar in its series of holders in the same manner as the first bar, the upper edge 34 of the bar fitting snugly underneath the narrow upper flange 25. The bars should be slightly less in measurement between the upper edge 34 and the lower edge 35 than the distance between the lower flange 22 and the upper narrow flange 25. On account of the rabbet 36, there should also be a slight clearance between the inside vertical face 32 of the bar and the outer face 3! of the rabbet. This gives a somewhat loose fit of the bar in the channel, however when the web is taut after being stretched to fit the bars in place in the holders, the bars are pulled upwardly so that their upper faces 34 contact the abutment shoulder of the narrow flange 25, along the upper edge of each channel holder. This engagement is sufficient to retain both of the bars in place in the holders and the straps positioned over the arch of the bows. The webbing is thus spaced from the bows by the thickness of the slats. Of course the webbing between adjacent pairs of straps will be in a straight line Whereas the bows are arched but When using a considerable number of slats, the webbing will conform approximately to the arch of the bows. Canvas tarpaulin or other fabric or similar covering may then be spread over the removable top construction and secured to the vehicle or to the posts of the bows in any usual and known manner. This construction is relatively light and yet may be sufficiently strong for the purpose of supporting canvas or similar outer coverings. Manifestly the top construction may be removed after unfastening the outer fabric cover, removing this, unhooking one of the bars from its set of holder channels and then rolling the top with the bars and slats into a roll. This leaves the bows entirely exposed so that if desired these can be entirely removed from the vehicle as is quite customary where it is desired to have the truck open at the top or unobstructed for loading and unloading heavy articles on or off the truck.

Various changes may be made in the details of the construction without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a device as described, a metal bracket channel shaped in vertical cross section and including a web, an upper and a lower flange, a rim extending upwardly from the lower flange par allel to the Web, the upper flange being of less length than the lower flange and a clamp connected to the web adapted for attachment to a bow, the said channel being open opposite the web between the upper edge of the rim and the outer edge of the upper flange.

2. In a device as described, a metal bracket channel shaped in vertical transverse section and characterized by a vertical web, a lower horizontal flange, a vertical rim extending upwardly from the outer end of the lower flange and parallel to the web, an upper horizontal flange at the upper end of the web of less length than the lower flange, means for attaching the holder to a bow, the said channel being open opposite the web between the upper edge of the rim and the outer edge of the upper flange and adapted for insertion and removal of a horizontal bar rigid in its cross section and shaped to fit the channel.

3. In a device as described, the combination of a metal bracket channel shaped in vertical transverse section including a vertical web, an upper anda lower flange, a rim extending upwardly from the lower flange parallel to the web, the upper flange being of less length than the lower flange, means for attaching the web to a bow with the channel facing outwardly, a horizontal bar rigid in cross section and having an inside vertical face, a lower and an outer edge to fit against the lower flange and the rim and an upper surface to fit underneath the upper flange and a tension member secured to the bar to exert an upward reaction of the bar against the upper flange and thereby retain the bar from displacement.

JESSE W. PARK. 

